


Raisins in Your Coffee

by jju_nyaa



Series: The Parallel [8]
Category: NU'EST
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Prohibition Era, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, mention of murder and stabbing, some crime, some illegal stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:48:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26118265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jju_nyaa/pseuds/jju_nyaa
Summary: There is yet another instance of the local newspaper versus the local police but maybe all Mingi wants is to simply get back to work.[The Parallel - Day 11 - Crime AU]
Relationships: Choi Minki | Ren & Kang Dongho | Baekho, Choi Minki | Ren & Kim Jonghyun | JR, Choi Minki | Ren/Kang Dongho | Baekho, Hwang Minhyun & Kim Jonghyun | JR, Hwang Minhyun/Kim Jonghyun | JR
Series: The Parallel [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886287
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22
Collections: Nu'fics x The Parallel





	Raisins in Your Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> A Crime AU for The Parallel Fic Fest by [nufics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nufics).

**— » — « —**

“Mingi! Where’s my coffee?!” Kim Jonghyun hollered from within his office.

“In a minute!” Choi Mingi hollered in return, too focused on the piece of paper he was cutting. He snipped it carefully with scissors, then gathered the discarded bits to dump them in the bin next to his desk.

Jonghyun’s secretary then stood up to fetch the much-needed caffeine dose that his boss demanded. He hummed a song he couldn’t get out of his head, all the while internally debating whether it would be a good time to spike Jonghyun’s coffee with his latest experimental ingredient.

After all, his boss’s tone was currently that of a good mood — smug, even. And whenever Jonghyun was in a smug mood, Mingi knew he could get him to try to eat and drink practically _anything_ (except, of course, anything that was cherry tomatoes).

Not to mention his current smugness was sure to last the whole day — all due to the fact that their latest editorial warranted yet another “friendly” visit from the police who would certainly like to “have a word” with their editor-in-chief.

Mingi had warned him; it was unnecessary to rile up the local police. The NPD were already under heavy criticism for lackluster results of their investigation, all thanks to Newest Daily’s factual reporting. Additional ribbing from the paper’s opinion page would just ruffle more feathers and solve nothing. 

Jonghyun was adamant, however, (and Aaron had backed him up) that the police could use some well-thought-out prose and Jonghyun’s signature Picasso (by god, it was uglier than usual) to cure their current incompetence.

The only good thing about this pending confrontation was that Mingi would get to see Lieutenant Kang again.

“I need my coffee, Mingi!” Jonghyun called out again.

“You want raisins in it, Boss?”

“Ye— no!”

“Okay, just the one, then,” Mingi mumbled cheerfully to himself, plopping a single raisin in the mug.

With the coffee delivered — “you put _one_ raisin in this, didn’t you?” Jonghyun had asked intuitively — Mingi went back to his desk. He had just sorted out his clippings into a folder when a pair of officers came in. 

Ignoring the looks that the other reporters gave them, they went straight for the set of stairs leading up to the balcony where Mingi’s desk was situated outside of Jonghyun’s office.

“Good morning, Mr. Choi,” Lieutenant Kang Dongho greeted, his smile easily rivalling the mega-watt ones that Aaron reserved for his not-so-secret horde of fan readers.

“Morning, officers,” Mingi returned, coughing demurely.

“Is Mr. Kim in his office?” the other officer, Detective Hwang Minhyun, asked. He looked somewhere in between pissed and constipated, though Mingi guessed that it could also be just nerves. It was tough to tell sometimes, but the ad hoc public relations officer had always done a superb job of making the police look good. 

“On behalf of the Nucket Police Department I would like to have a word with him, please,” Minhyun said, finally managing a smile, however too formal. Ah, perhaps it was partly because he looked really good.

“I’ll see if he’s ready to r—” Mingi was saying when the door to Jonghyun’s office flew open.

“Ah, Lieutenant Kang, Detective Hwang,” Jonghyun said upon seeing their visitors. He especially nodded smugly at the detective, who pursed his lips in mild irritation at the way the editor casually leaned against the door post and took a sip from his mug.

They had been like that for as long as Mingi could remember (two years). As Minhyun was previously a police liaison officer before training to become an actual police officer, all communications from the local PD to the newspapers had been made through him. Even now that Minhyun was a full-fledged detective, anything that the police chief wanted to express towards Newest Daily — and the words were usually the unhappy sort, if not outright unkind — had all to be delivered by him.

Jonghyun was almost _always_ too happy to hear them from Minhyun — as far as Mingi could tell, at least.

“Did someone say they would like to have a word with me?” he asked, grinning. Jonghyun turned sideways and nudged his head towards the interior of his office — a wordless, you-know-the-drill invitation to come in and take a seat.

Minhyun let out an involuntary ‘tsk’ along with an equally involuntary eyebrow twitch. His feet did know the drill and, with his long legs, the detective strode towards Jonghyun’s office and stalked past him.

“Coffee?” Jonghyun called out gently, which was answered by a curt, “no, thank you,” from the guest inside. He then beamed at Mingi and Dongho. “Lieutenant, you coming in?”

Dongho, who was already comfortably seated on the chair in front of Mingi’s desk, shook his head. “Oh, no, please… I’ll leave you both to it.”

“And this is why you’re my favourite lieutenant, Dongho.” Jonghyun shot him with a finger gun before stepping back inside his office and closing the door. Mingi thought he heard the lock click as well.

“I’m the only lieutenant in town.” Dongho chuckled.

“That makes you the best one,” Mingi supplied, hanging a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the doorknob before fetching a cup for Dongho.

“You’ve really got to stop saying that.”

“Why should I when it’s true?” Mingi tapped one of the containers next to the coffee pot. “Raisins?”

“Raisins? Uh, sure.”

Dongho watched as Mingi scooped a teaspoonful of the dried fruit and dumped them into the coffee cups. Mingi then placed the tray on the desk between them, taking a cup and setting it before the lieutenant.

Dongho regarded Mingi for a moment, a curious frown on his face that gradually morphed into that of concern. “You sure you’re okay now?” he asked, gingerly watching the secretary stir his coffee.

“I’m better,” Mingi replied. “I’m back to work, see?”

“Jonghyun shouldn’t have let you—”

“Jonghyun knows I need this,” Mingi cut in petulantly. “He’s not even giving me actual work— do you see a telephone on my desk? He only ever asks for his coffee, that’s it. He’s letting me ease back into things, don’t worry,” he ended and finally stopped stirring. He took a sip, nodding satisfactorily at his concoction.

“All right,” Dongho conceded, even surprised at the thoughtfulness that the editor-in-chief could give his secretary. “I’m glad then,” he ended with an assuring smile. “Happy to see you’re back.”

“I’m happy to see you, too, you know,” Mingi grinned.

A dull crash was then heard from within Jonghyun’s office.

Mingi sighed. “But I guess I might be asked to help tidy up later.”

Dongho pulled a face. “Like, right after—”

Mingi mirrored his expression. “Of course not. I only meant I’d help sort out the jumbled paperwork.”

“Ah. Good.” The lieutenant took his cup and started stirring it the way Mingi did.

A mad dash up the stairs could be heard and soon Kwak Aaron, Newest Daily’s star reporter, came into view.

“Morning, Aaron,” Mingi greeted.

“Morning, Mingi— oh, hello, Lieutenant Kang, did you read my masterpiece this morning?” Aaron said almost within a single breath. He stopped for a chat, taking the other seat across Dongho.

“It’s why I’m here, our boss loved your editorial so much,” Dongho replied good-naturedly.

“I knew it!” Aaron did a fist pump. “And Jonghyun’s cartoon?”

“A verified work of art. The likeness is uncannily out of this world.”

“Boss was pretty inspired, wasn’t he, Ming?” Aaron asked.

Mingi frowned in distaste. “It was still both ugly and unnecessary.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, I know that look and I’m telling you, it’s fine,” the reporter assured him. “Is Boss busy?”

“Very busy,” Mingi replied immediately, eager to switch topics. “They’re having words.”

“Oh, great,” Aaron huffed. “How long will they be at it?”

“Sounds pretty… extensive, so I’m guessing you’ll just have to come back after lunch,” Mingi said, checking his watch.

“I’d be lucky if I can come back after lunch, I’ve got leads to follow!” Aaron griped, annoyed as he debated whether or not he should interrupt.

“I really don’t think you should do what I think you’re about to do, sir,” Dongho warned Aaron.

Aaron stared at Dongho, apparent that there was an internal dispute going through the reporter’s consciousness. Half a minute passed and finally, Aaron gave up, relaxing back against his chair just as another thud was heard from inside the office across them.

“Good choice,” Dongho commended and, despite himself, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief.

“Just leave a message for him,” Mingi handed the reporter a pen and a pad of notepaper. “I’m Kim Jonghyun’s secretary, after all.”

“Oh, Choi Mingi, darling, what would I do without you?” Aaron crooned as he scribbled a quick note for their editor.

“You’ll live, I’m sure,” Mingi quipped, taking back the pad and tearing Aaron’s note off it. He folded it two and placed it inside his desk drawer.

“Right-o, I’m off,” Aaron stood up and stretched. “Good to see you, Kang Dongho, and do a better job, yeah?” the reporter gave the lieutenant a wink and a mock salute before dashing down the stairs.

“Yeah, fuck you, Kwak Aaron,” Dongho retorted with a laugh. Finally, the officer managed to take a sip of his coffee, choking as he did so. “Interesting,” he gasped after managing the coughing fit. “Almost like the cookies you sent the other day.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Mingi assured him. “But the real question is, did you like the cookies?”

“Oh, yeah,” Dongho nodded. “They were odd-looking but they’re, um, edible.”

Mingi beamed. “You’re too kind.”

A muffled groan cut into the lull that settled between the two; Dongho and Mingi both turned to the direction of Jonghyun’s door.

“Since they’re already at it,” Mingi checked his watch again, “where do _you_ want to take _me_?”

“Begging your pardon, what?” Dongho choked.

Mingi’s eyes narrowed deviously, a pleased smile on his lips. “For lunch,” he clarified. “It’s lunchtime, Lieutenant, or is Detective Hwang the only cop who gets his appetite satiated at noon?”

Pretty sure that it was a different kind of appetite that was being satisfied at the moment, Dongho shrugged. He also didn’t want to clarify whether Mingi meant his statement to be literal instead of figurative. Instead, the lieutenant asked (literally), “So, Mr. Choi, where do you want to eat?”

“I know just the right place,” the secretary answered confidently.

**— » — « —**

The place, it turned out, was Mingi’s apartment.

It was tiny, though quite enough for a young bachelor like him. Everything about it was compact — a tiny couch, a tiny kitchen with a tiny island counter, a single bed in one corner. Dongho could tell it was the same with every other room in the building block — except for the impressive-looking refrigerator next to an equally impressive-looking oven. They stood out in Mingi’s tiny kitchen; Dongho understood now how the secretary could come up with such ridiculously innovative… delights.

Seating himself at the stool before the island counter, Dongho followed Mingi’s entreaties of making himself comfortable while the latter busied himself with preparing a table setting for two. Given the odd coffee from earlier and the odd cookies from earlier than that, Dongho was a little apprehensive about what sort of lunch Mingi was going to serve.

Turned out it was a two-course tryst, and a searing kiss was the appetizer. Mingi tasted like the raisin coffee he had served Dongho earlier. Dongho was sure he tasted the same.

It took him by surprise but he didn’t want to question it — or, at least, he could question it later. He simply let himself go along with the flow that Mingi was then directing, wordless as he was led by the hand towards Mingi’s tiny bed.

While it was a complete surprise to find out that the secretary was attracted to him, Dongho had no time to spend ruminating on it. Mingi had been on his mind since a long time ago and had been part of his night-time fantasies whenever his brain could take a break from nightmares with dead bodies in it.

Whenever he thought of Mingi, it was always like how they were right then — flushed, panting, hot — and briefly Dongho wondered if he’s just dreaming everything. After all, Mingi was supposedly beyond his reach.

It was for that reason that Dongho would always offer to accompany Minhyun whenever he’s sent to meet Jonghyun, so he could sit at Mingi’s desk and while away the hours while his subordinate and Mingi’s boss indulged in each other. Dongho was content to draw the line between the Mingi he knew and the Mingi of his imagination. Who knew the line would soon be blurred?

“If your stitches open up because of this, I’ll say ‘I told you so,’” Dongho said afterwards when Mingi was snuggled up against him. His hand had brushed against the stitched-up stab wound on the other man’s abdomen, the same wound that had sent him to the hospital and made Kim Jonghyun furious enough to retaliate and mock the police later on.

Dongho knew Jonghyun only waited for Mingi to recover before writing up that editorial with Aaron. They said it was for the ongoing serial killings case — Dongho knew they were really just taking out their personal frustrations and anger that Mingi nearly fell victim to possibly the actual culprit.

Mingi’s stab wound was similar to those of the victims’, after all. If Dongho had not been following him that night and interfered with the attack, Mingi would have been dead.

“I’m fine,” Mingi insisted, slapping Dongho’s hand away from it. He pulled himself up and, propped on his elbows, faced Dongho. “But I need you to do something for me.”

“Ah, so this is a bribe.” Dongho raised an eyebrow.

“Partly,” Mingi agreed, “though a huge part of why we’re here right now is because I actually do like you. Don’t you like me?”

“I do like you,” Dongho admitted. “And to be honest if you wanted something from me, all you had to do was ask.”

“I didn’t think I could simply ask you to delay the investigation,” Mingi shrugged.

“What for? You’ve been delaying it already for as long as you have, anyhow.”

When Mingi was at the hospital and detectives were sent to question him about the attack, he had told them practically nothing. Though “nothing” might have been an overstatement — Mingi had given them at least some of the culprit’s physical details despite his trauma.

But as for the circumstances that led to the attack (so they could determine whatever motive the killer had and how he chose his victims) Mingi had remained vague. Dongho had been present during one interview and could tell that the man was hiding something.

“I only need a couple more days, Dongho.” Mingi looked a bit anxious. “Just keep your men away from me for a while. I’ll tell everything later.”

Dongho reached out to cup Mingi’s cheek in his hand. “How about you tell me everything now, and I’ll decide if I can do something to delay the investigation for you?”

Mingi stared at him long and hard. “I want to trust you completely,” he said after a while, “but I find that it’s rather hard to do even if I’d like to think of you as a friend.”

“I am your friend,” Dongho stated. “I may be a cop but… you probably have a lot more power to ruin me than I could you.”

Frowning, Mingi asked, “What do you mean?”

The lieutenant sighed. “The night you were attacked, I wasn’t there by chance. And I know… that you weren’t there by chance either. You’ve never gone to that part of town before but, for some reason, you did. And that’s what you’re not telling.”

“How…” Mingi faltered. He took a deep breath and tried again, steeling himself to ask the question. “Have you been following me?”

“Frankly, I’m glad I did,” Dongho answered. “Why were you there that night?”

Despite wanting to know why and since when had Dongho been following him, Mingi also understood that if the lieutenant hadn’t been on his trail…

“I came to visit my brother,” Mingi finally said. “He works at a speakeasy and… I just came to see him. I wanted to know how he’s doing but I realize now that I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t want him to get in trouble, Dongho,” he ended with a plea.

“Ah, bootleggers,” Dongho chuckled. “You know they’re not my problem, Mingi, we have agents for that.”

Mingi scrunched up his nose in irritation. “Well, pardon me for not wanting to tip off anyone from the force,” he huffed, before turning his back towards the cop.

Dongho shifted to his side so he could hug Mingi from behind. “What do you need a couple of days for, then?” he asked, pressing a kiss on the back of his ear.

“For my brother to skip town before your agents bust the joint.”

“Alright, you can have it.”

“Thank you.” Mingi then turned his head to face him. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

“What is it?”

“Stop following me.”

Dongho returned the knowing smile that Mingi was giving him before closing in and filling his mouth with Mingi’s. “I won’t follow you around anymore,” he said when they broke the kiss.

“Just walk right next to me where I can see you and be with you,” Mingi added.

“I will do that.”

“And if you want me… you know where I live.”

“And if I’m hungry?”

Mingi chuckled, patting Dongho’s cheek before pushing him away and getting out of bed. “I’ll go get you something to eat, then.”

**— » the end « —**

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed. 
> 
> Maybe the crime here is that none of the characters have a decent amount of integrity, lol.
> 
> For anyone who might not be familiar with the Prohibition Era:  
> bootlegger - maker, carrier, and seller of illegal goods (in this case, alcoholic drinks)  
> speakeasy - illegal drinking spot
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
